I came across a site the other day that promised: “We’ll help you launch a landing page in minutes.”

That sounds pretty do-able, and even believable. Especially since we want to believe it so badly. The trouble is, just because we want to believe, it isn’t necessarily true.

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.
- George Bernard Shaw

Well, old GBS may as well have been talking about landing pages, because apparently there are still people out there who think you can actually perform such a feat.

Technically I suppose it’s true that you can Create a landing page in minutes. You can put together a headline, a picture, some sales copy, and a form and call it a landing page. The thing is, what you’ve got at that point is sort of like a car without an engine – it looks good, but it’s not going anywhere.

To add an engine to your landing page, here’s a list of Some of the things that need to be done. The to-do list is actually long enough that it can be divided into three categories:

Landing Page To-Do’s

1. Prepare your whitepaper or other giveaway document.
2. Create an image of your whitepaper cover for use on your landing page – letting people see what they’re getting has proven to increase conversions. (Interestingly, pictures of attractive, smiling human faces also boost conversions).
3. Upload your whitepaper to a server where it can be downloaded by subscribers.
4. Create a couple of carefully selected links where people can find out more about your company if they really want. While it’s true that landing pages are intentionally designed to minimize off-page links – you’re not doing yourself any favors if you completely eliminate the ability to link to your company. A small link in the page footer works well for this.

Confirmation E-mail To-Do’s

1. Set up an auto-response email process in which visitors who sign up (we’ll call them subscribers for now), receive a message that
   • Confirms receipt of their completed form
   • Provides instructions on what to do next, e.g., how to download the whitepaper or other giveaway
   • Provides contact information and a reinforcing sales message.
2. Test the confirmation email to ensure delivery against spam filters.
3. Confirm that the “send from” address is one that you like. Some landing page providers let you put your name on the From line, but the email address is something like [yourdomain@landingpage-provider.com].

Reporting To-Dos

1. Set up a web based report where you can view and export subscriber data.
2. Create a process for following up with prospects, either by feeding them to your CRM system, or starting an email drip campaign.

As you can see, building in a landing page “in minutes” is only part of the story. Making it work is, well, a bit more work – and you’ll be less frustrated if you understand this before you get started.

  ·   Categories:  Landing Page Process, Landing Pages